Information storage to support wireless communication in non-exclusive spectrum

ABSTRACT

Wirelessly-linked, distributed resource control (RCS 1 -RCSn, RCSB, RCC, ARM) supports a wireless communication system ( 50 ) for operation in non-exclusive spectrum ( 24 - 29 ). An available resource map (ARM) contains resource availability information gathered by mobile stations (MS 1 -MSn), and a wired communication channel supports sharing of resource control information among fixed-site stations (BS).

[0001] This application claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)(1) ofthe following copending U.S. Provisional Applications: 60/420,168(TI-35503PS) filed on Oct. 22, 2002; and 60/431,561 (TI-35681PS) filedon Dec. 6, 2002, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates generally to wireless communication and,more particularly, to wireless communication in a non-exclusivespectrum.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Conventional cellular wireless communication systems cantypically be characterized as: voice-centric; operative in an exclusivefrequency spectrum; capable of providing relatively long-range wirelesscommunication links (e.g., 5 km); capable of providing relatively lowlatency; and utilizing frequency management techniques to provide arelatively high quality of service (QoS). Conventional wireless localarea networks (WLAN) can be characterized as: data centric; operative ina non-exclusive frequency spectrum; having relatively high latency;having relatively short-range wireless communication links (e.g., 100m); and having a relatively low QoS due to the inherent interruptionsassociated with use of interference mitigation techniques.

[0004] As communications applications become more and moresophisticated, there is an ever increasing demand for wirelesscommunications at higher data rates. Although WLAN can typically providehigher data rates (e.g., 11 Mbps) than cellular systems (e.g., 10 Kbps),nevertheless cellular systems can outperform WLAN systems in terms ofrange, latency and QoS.

[0005]FIG. 1 graphically illustrates examples of spectrum utilization inexclusive-spectrum systems such as conventional cellular telephonesystems. As shown in FIG. 1, various users, designated as 1-8 in FIG. 1,are assigned time slots for communication at a given frequency A. Thesetime slots are generally adequate for conducting voice calls, and evenfor conducting some data communication sessions that do not require anappreciably higher data rate than a voice call. However, in order tosupport a data communication session at, e.g., four times (4×) the datarate of a typical voice call, four of the time slots of FIG. 1 wouldneed to be assigned for the desired communication session. Thus, theuser would utilize 4× the capacity of a typical voice user. Consideringa hypothetical user who, at the 4× data rate, uses the same amount ofcalling time as another user who makes only voice calls, the 4× userwill utilize 4× as much capacity as the voice call user, which wouldgenerally result in the 4× user bearing a cost that is 4× as large asthe voice call user's cost. For example, if the voice call user'ssubscriber cost is $50.00 per month, then the 4× user's subscriber costcould be $200 per month.

[0006] Moreover, the 4× user's monopolization of capacity isdisadvantageous to the cellular operator even if the 4× user is willingto pay the $200 per month for his desired service, because the cellularoperator will no longer be able to support the same number of voice callusers with the same QoS as would be the case if there were no 4× user.

[0007] Thus, although the range, latency and QoS characteristics ofexclusive-spectrum systems such as cellular systems are superior tonon-exclusive-spectrum systems such as WLAN, neverthelessexclusive-spectrum systems are not generally designed to support thetype of high data rate calls supported by non-exclusive-spectrumsystems.

[0008] It is desirable in view of the foregoing to provide an approachto wireless communication that can achieve conventionally unavailablecombinations of characteristics such as data rate, latency, QoS andrange.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 graphically illustrates how costs generally scale with datarate in conventional cellular systems.

[0010]FIG. 2 graphically illustrates examples of non-exclusive frequencyspectra that can be utilized for wireless communication according toexemplary embodiments of the invention.

[0011]FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates exemplary embodiments of awireless communications system according to the invention.

[0012]FIG. 4 conceptually illustrates the operation of distributedresource control systems implemented by the wireless communicationssystem of FIG. 3.

[0013]FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary operations which can be performed bythe wireless communications system of FIG. 3.

[0014] FIGS. 6-9 illustrate further exemplary operations which can beperformed by the wireless communications system of FIG. 3.

[0015]FIG. 10 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions ofexemplary embodiments of a mobile station of FIG. 3.

[0016]FIG. 11 illustrates exemplary timing of communication operationsthat can be performed by a mobile station of FIG. 3.

[0017]FIG. 12 illustrates further exemplary operations which can beperformed by the wireless communications system of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Exemplary embodiments of the invention can provide forcellular-like performance in terms of latency, range and quality ofservice, but without the above-described type of data rate limitationsnormally associated with cellular systems. To accomplish this, theinvention utilizes frequency channels outside of the licensed, exclusivespectrum utilized by cellular operators. This is illustrated generallyin FIG. 2, wherein exemplary areas of the frequency spectrum that can beutilized by the present invention are shaded. Exclusive areas of thespectrum licensed to cellular operators are illustrated at 21 (FDDtransmit frequencies) and 22 (FDD receive frequencies). As shown in FIG.2, the invention can utilize, for example, non-exclusive, unlicensedportions of the frequency spectrum at 26-29, immediately adjacent thecellular transmit and receive areas 21 and 22, and can also utilizeother portions of the frequency spectrum at 24 and 25. The frequencyspectrum portions 24 and 25 can be portions of the frequency spectrumlicensed to users whose utilization of the spectrum is highlyconcentrated within predetermined periods of time, leaving other periodsof time where the frequency spectrum portions 24 and 25 are idle andtherefore available to be shared.

[0019] According to exemplary embodiments of the invention, allocationof resources within any of the shaded spectrum areas of FIG. 2 iscontrolled by a wirelessly-linked, distributed resource control system.FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates exemplary embodiments of a wirelesscommunication system according to the invention, including awirelessly-linked, distributed resource control system. In FIG. 3, aplurality of mobile wireless communication devices or mobile stationsMS1, MS2, . . . MSn can communicate with one another and/or a fixed-sitestation (e.g., a cellular base station or other access point) BS viavarious wireless communication links as illustrated. The wirelesscommunication links illustrated in FIG. 3 can be effectuated, forexample, in any of the shaded frequency spectrum areas of FIG. 2. Forexample, the transmit and receive filters of a conventional mobilestation such as a cellular telephone can be readily modified by workersin the art for operation in any of the four frequency spectrum areas26-29 immediately adjacent the cellular spectrum in FIG. 2. Thus, all ofthe wireless communications illustrated in FIG. 3 could be effectuatedin, for example, the spectrum portion 29 of FIG. 2.

[0020] The mobile stations MS1, MS2, . . . MSn respectively includeresource control segments RCS1, RCS2, . . . RCSn. The base station BS ofFIG. 3 includes a resource control segment RCSB. The resource controlsegments RCS1-RCSn can communicate with one another and with theresource control segment RCSB via wireless communication links asillustrated in FIG. 3. These wirelessly-linked resource control segmentsRCS1-RCSn and RCSB, or any subset thereof, constitute awirelessly-linked, distributed resource control system. The distributedresource control system determines the allocation of resources withinthe portion of the frequency spectrum (e.g., one of the shaded portionsof FIG. 2) that is being utilized by the wireless communication systemof FIG. 3.

[0021] The fixed-site station BS can be, in some embodiments, a basestation of a cellular operator, appropriately modified to include theresource control segment RCSB. Such a base station can also be readilymodified by workers in the art to operate in any of the spectrum areas26-29 of FIG. 2. The base station can be coupled in conventional fashionto its corresponding network infrastructure, for example a conventionalcellular network infrastructure. The network infrastructure can becoupled in conventional fashion to a conventional data networkincluding, for example, the Internet. Within the data network, anavailable resource map (ARM) can be provided, for example, in datastorage memory on a conventional data base server, and can be accessedby authenticated users, in some embodiments, publicly from a suitablewebsite on the Internet. The ARM is utilized to store information(described in detail hereinbelow) about the various mobile stationsMS1-MSn, which information can be used to allocate resources in theprocess of establishing communication sessions among the mobile stationsand/or between the mobile stations and the base station. Thus, someexemplary embodiments of the distributed resource control system includethe ARM.

[0022] To facilitate exposition, the reference numeral 50 is used inFIG. 3 to designate the wirelessly-interconnected communication groupincluding the mobile stations MS1-MSn and the fixed-site station BS. Asshown in FIG. 3, other such communication groups 50 can also be providedaccording to exemplary embodiments of the invention.

[0023] The network infrastructure can, in some embodiments, be usedaccording to the invention to implement a wired control channel (WCC)between fixed-site stations. In some embodiments, both the networkinfrastructure and the data network are used to implement a WCCaccording to the invention. In some embodiments, the WCC uses IPprotocol or another suitable network communication protocol toeffectuate information transfer. Examples of WCCs according to theinvention are described hereinbelow.

[0024]FIG. 4 conceptually illustrates communications among the resourcecontrol segments illustrated in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the resourcecontrol segments RCS1-RCSn and RCSB can communicate with one another viaa resource control channel RCC. The resource control channel RCC isherein referred to as an ad-hoc control channel, due to the fact thatthis control channel permits all of the resource control segments or anysubset thereof to cooperate among themselves to allocate resources forcommunication sessions desired by the various mobile stations. Exemplaryuses of the ad-hoc resource control channel are described hereinafterrelative to FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0025]FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary operations which can be performed bythe wireless communication system of FIG. 3. At 500, a given mobilestation can use the RCC to register its presence in the system and/orupdate the information in its corresponding entry in the ARM. Theupdated information is received by the fixed-site station, which thenforwards the updated information to the ARM via conventionally availabletechniques and connectivity such as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 3.The ARM update operation at 500 can be repeated periodically, asillustrated at 600. At 700 and 1100, if a first mobile station receivesfrom a second mobile station, via the RCC, a request for a communicationsession between the first and second mobile stations, then the first andsecond mobile stations will share ARM information at 1200 via the RCC.In some embodiments, the mobile station which received the request willsimply include its ARM information in an acknowledgment message that itsends to the requesting mobile station on the RCC. Referring again to700 and 1100, if a mobile station receives a session request from afixed-site station, then the ARM information of the mobile station isalready available to the fixed-site station, so the sharing of ARMinformation via the RCC at 1200 is not necessary.

[0026] At 1300, the communication stations that will be involved in therequested communication session use the RCC to reach agreement onvarious parameters of the communication session. If the requestedcommunication session is a mobile-to-mobile session, then at least oneof the mobile stations, in some embodiments the requesting mobilestation, considers the ARM information of both mobile stations, and thensuggests communication parameters to the other mobile station via theRCC. If the requested communication session is between a fixed-sitestation and a mobile station, then the fixed-site station, alreadyhaving access to the mobile station's ARM information, can use the RCCat 1300 to instruct the mobile station as to the communicationparameters. Examples of communication parameters (also referred toherein as communication resources or spectrum resources) includefrequency channel, spreading code, modulation, time slot(s), transmitpower, direction, etc.

[0027] If both communication stations agree on a set of communicationsession parameters at 1300, then one or both of the communicationstations can use the RCC to broadcast on the RCC an intent to conduct acommunication session using the communication resources agreed upon at1300. At 1500, one or both of the communication stations can listen tothe RCC to determine whether any other communication stations object tothe communication session that was proposed at 1400. If no objection isreceived at 1500, then the communication stations can begin theirwireless communication session at 1600, which wireless communicationsession can utilize the air interface in, for example, generally thesame manner as in conventional cellular systems, except of course usingdifferent frequency bands.

[0028] In some embodiments, the communication stations involved in acommunication session communicate in frequency-division duplex (FDD)fashion. For example, the areas of the frequency spectrum at 26 and 28could be used by a first station for transmit and receive operations,respectively, and by a second station for receive and transmitoperations, respectively. In some embodiments, the communicationstations involved in a session communicate in a time-division duplex(TDD) fashion using a single frequency channel, and the timingparameters of the TDD can be agreed upon at 1300 in some embodiments.Use of single-channel TDD simplifies the design of the mobile stationsfor operation in spectrum areas such as 24 in FIG. 2.

[0029] In some embodiments, the communication stations can aggregatemultiple channels to increase throughput. For example, a TDDcommunication session could be carried out on frequency channels in twoor more of the bands at 24-29 in FIG. 2.

[0030] Referring again to FIG. 3, if an objection is received at 1500,then the communication stations attempt at 1300 to agree on another setof communication session parameters, including at least a differentfrequency channel. The operations at 1300, 1400 and 1500 can be repeatedeither until it is determined at 1500 that the communication session canbegin at 1600, or until it is determined at 1300 that the communicationstations cannot agree on a set of communication session parameters thatare acceptable to both communication stations and are also not objectedto by other communication stations. If the communication stations cannotagree on communication session parameters at 1300, then operations canreturn to 600.

[0031] If a first mobile station desires a communication session withanother mobile station at 800, then at 900, the first mobile stationsends on the RCC a request for the desired communication session. If at1000 and 1100 the request sent at 900 is answered by the desired mobilestation, then the above-described operations at 1200-1600 can beperformed. If a fixed-site station answers the request sent at 900(e.g., because the desired mobile station is out of range), then theabove-described operations at 1300-1600 can be performed.

[0032] With respect to the wireless communication sessions indicated at1600, it should be noted that a communication session between two mobilestations constitutes both a wireless point-to-point communicationsession and an end-to-end communication session between peers, whereas acommunication session between a mobile station and fixed-site stationconstitutes a wireless point-to-point communication session that is acomponent of an end-to-end communication session between two peer mobilestations. In the latter situation of a point-to-point mobilestation/fixed-site station session, and referring again to FIG. 3, theultimate end-to-end communication session between two mobile stationswill also include one of (1) a further point-to-point wirelesscommunication session between the fixed-site station and the othermobile station or (2) a link through a WCC in the network infrastructurefrom the fixed-site station to a further fixed-site station, and afurther point-to-point wireless communication session between thefurther fixed-site station and the other mobile station. In situation(1) above, both mobile stations may be within range of the samefixed-site station, but the requested mobile station may be out of rangeof the requesting mobile station, so the fixed-site station, which ismonitoring the RCC, picks up the request and sends it via the RCC to therequested mobile station (see 1100). So, the original request for asession with the requested mobile station is, in situation (1),ultimately implemented as a request by the requesting mobile station fora session with the fixed-site station, combined with a request by thefixed-site station for a session with the requested mobile station.

[0033] In situation (2) above, the requesting mobile station and therequested mobile station are not within range of the same fixed-sitestation, so the fixed-site station within range of the requesting mobilestation picks up the request from its monitoring of the RCC, and thenproceeds to search the ARM to determine the location of the requestedmobile station. Once the location of the requested mobile station isdetermined, then the fixed-site station uses a WCC to contact anotherfixed-site station which is within range of the requested mobilestation. This further fixed-site station then uses the RCC to send arequest to the requested mobile station (see 700 and 1100). In order tosimplify matters for situation (2), the ARM can, in some embodiments, bepartitioned into portions which respectively correspond to the variousfixed-site stations (see also FIG. 3). In this fashion, when a givenmobile station updates its ARM information to a within-range fixed-sitestation, the ARM information for that mobile station will be recorded inthe ARM portion corresponding to the within-range fixed-site station.Each of the aforementioned portions of the ARM can also include an indexof mobile station identifiers. This index identifies those mobilestations whose ARM information is stored in that portion of the ARM. Inthis fashion, any given fixed-site station that is searching for anout-of-range mobile station need only search the mobile stationidentifier indices of the ARM portions corresponding to the otherfixed-site stations in order to determine which fixed-site stationshould be contacted to support the desired end-to-end communicationsession.

[0034] After a first fixed-site station has been notified (via a WCC) bya second fixed-site station that a requested mobile station appears inthe ARM portion of the first fixed-site station, then the firstfixed-site station can use a WCC through the network infrastructure anddata network (FIG. 3) to access the ARM and retrieve the ARM informationfor the requested mobile station. Then, operations can proceed asdescribed above relative to 1100 etc. in FIG. 5. In some embodiments,when a given fixed-site station receives an update of ARM informationfrom a within-range mobile station, the fixed-site station not onlyupdates its portion of the ARM, but also broadcasts to the otherfixed-site stations, via a WCC through the network infrastructure, amessage indicating that any information for that mobile station can bedeleted from the portions of the ARM corresponding to the otherfixed-site stations.

[0035]FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary operations which can be performedaccording to the invention by communication stations that areparticipating in any of the aforementioned wireless point-to-pointcommunication sessions. Once the communication session has begun asillustrated at 1600 (see also FIG. 5), one or both of the communicationstations participating in the communication session can detect at 1601actual or potential interfering communication sessions. An actualinterfering communication session could be detected, for example, as anoticeable degradation of the communication stations' ongoingcommunication session. A potentially interfering communication sessioncould be detected by one or both communication stations monitoring theRCC and detecting that another communication station has broadcast itsintention to conduct a communication session which will interfere withthe ongoing communication session between the two communicatingstations, for example an intention to conduct a communication session onthe same frequency channel as, and too close to, the ongoingcommunication session. If an actual or potential interferer is detectedat 1601, the detecting communication station(s) can, at 1602, broadcaston the RCC an objection to the intention to conduct the interferingsession. As long as the communication session continues (see 1605), theoperations at 1601 and 1602 can continue. This is shown in FIG. 11,where RCC accesses are timewise interleaved with the data flow of thecommunication session.

[0036] As mentioned above, each mobile station can provide its own ARMinformation. This ARM information can include an identifier for themobile station, and information which indicates the position/location ofthe mobile station and/or the uncertainty of the position/location,together with an indication as to the degree of accuracy of theindication of position/location or uncertainty. Some embodiments of themobile stations include conventional Global Positioning System (GPS)capabilities in order to permit the mobile stations to determine theirposition/location information. The ARM information can also includeinformation about the current transmit power levels and directionalitieson the various frequency channels available to the mobile station. Usingconventional techniques, the mobile station can monitor power levels anddirectionality for each available frequency channel. Some mobile stationembodiments can also use conventional techniques to monitor anddetermine which time slots, spreading codes, etc. are being used on thevarious frequency channels. Other exemplary ARM information can includethe capabilities of the mobile station, whether the mobile station is ina service area of a base station, etc.

[0037] The ARM information can also include priority information for themobile station. For example, in some embodiments, the mobile station canmaintain a record of the total radiated energy (TRE) that it hasdissipated at its antenna over a predetermined time period. The TRE canbe a useful measure of system utilization because it tracks not only howlong the mobile station has been in an active session, but also howheavily the mobile station has utilized communication system resources.Longer range sessions, and sessions involving high data rates, normallyrequire higher power levels, so the TRE can provide a measure of how themobile station has utilized range and data rate capabilities, and forhow long. This information is effectively a measure of the occupation ofshared resources such as frequency and time. The priority information inthe ARM can be used to determine communication session priorities, asdescribed further hereinbelow. The sum of the TREs of the mobilestations involved in a communication session can be used as a priorityrating for the session. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 9, in some embodiments,if a proposed interfering session detected at 1601 has a higher prioritythan the current session, then the current session is dropped in favorof the higher priority session, as shown at 1603 in FIG. 9. Also, inhigh-traffic regions, an attending fixed-site station may broadcast onRCC the minimum priority that will be accepted in its immediate region,thereby reducing the number of inquiries on RCC. Some embodiments canlimit the maximum data rate in highly congested areas.

[0038] The ARM information for a given mobile station can also include,in some embodiments, the operational capabilities of the mobile station,for example the type(s) of modulation supported by the mobile station,the maximum transmit power of the mobile station, and the operationalfrequency range of the mobile station. Regarding the type(s) ofmodulation, the system is considerably simplified in some embodiments bylimiting the type(s) of modulation allowed within the portion of thespectrum that is being utilized (e.g., 26 in FIG. 2). Without suchlimitation, a diverse mix of operating bandwidths and modulations in adefined frequency channel could require the mobile stations to conductan extensive search across spectrum, bandwidth and modulation todetermine possible interferers in their vicinity. Some embodimentsprogram the mobile stations periodically with a set of forbiddenfrequencies (e.g., passive, weak channels, channels with complexmodulation).

[0039] Referring again to FIG. 5, in some embodiments, the operationshown at 1400 can be repeated periodically during the duration of thecommunication session at 1600. This is shown in FIG. 7, wherein at 1606one or both communication stations involved in the communication sessioncan, as frequently as desired, declare on the RCC an intent to continuethe communication session (in other words, re-declare the originalintent from 1400). This re-declaration of intent can identify thecommunication resources used by the session, for example, those thatwere agreed on at 1300. In such embodiments, a mobile station canmonitor re-declarations on the RCC long enough to learn which users areusing what resources, and therefore, how all pertinent communicationresources are presently utilized. This is shown in FIG. 8. RCC ismonitored at 801 to determine the resource usage of other users, and ifsuitable communication resources are identified at 802, then the mobilestation can send on RCC a request for a desired communication session,including suggested communication resources for the desired session, asshown at 901. In this instance, because the requesting mobile stationhas adequate system information to go ahead and suggest resources, theARM information sharing operation at 1200 in FIG. 5 would notnecessarily be needed.

[0040] The RCC can be defined, in some embodiments, for operation on apredetermined frequency (e.g. in one of 26-29 of FIG. 2) for allcommunications within a suitably large geographical area, for examplenationwide in the United States. This large geographic region can thenbe divided into a grid that is sized at some fraction of the range ofthe mobile stations and fixed-site stations in the system. As oneexample, the grid spacing can be one half of the minimum expected rangeof a mobile station to fixed-site station link.

[0041] The mobile stations and base stations/access points wouldtransmit information on the RCC using, for example, a CDMA code thatcorresponds to its geographic position. In some embodiments, the codefor a specific section of the grid could be determined as a function ofthe latitude and longitude of that grid section. Given that each mobilestation knows its precise location (e.g. from GPS), the mobile stationcan then determine the code that it should use for transmittinginformation on the predetermined frequency of the RCC. In someembodiments, a look-up table or suitable algorithm can be used todetermine the code based on location.

[0042] Given the aforementioned exemplary grid size of one half of theminimum expected range, mobile stations and fixed-site stations inneighboring grid sections would be possible interferers. However, themobile stations and fixed-site stations would also be able to determinethe codes for the neighboring grid sections, and therefore could easilyreceive information from mobile stations and fixed-site stations inneighboring grid sections as well. The spreading codes could be re-usedacross the grid in generally the same fashion as they are conventionallyre-used over a number of cellular system cells, so that re-use of codesin far away grids would not be a problem. As an example, in arectilinear grid, most of the grid sections would be surrounded by eightadjacent sections, so the re-use factor is nine. Some embodiments cancreate “virtual” cells of various shapes using GPS information andpredefined areas.

[0043] In some embodiments, conventionally available timing information,for example GPS timing signals, can be used to provide a time referencefor the RCC (and for the communication sessions themselves). The RCC canbe constructed from frames that are synchronized to the available timinginformation. A plurality of frames, each having a length of, forexample, 2 seconds or 5 seconds, could be established with reference tothe beginning of each GPS minute. Thus, at the beginning of a GPSminute, a new 2 or 5 second frame would begin, followed by new frames ateach 2 or 5 second interval within the GPS minute. Also, users that donot have access to the timing signal could learn the timing of the RCCby simply monitoring other users on the RCC, because the other users,which do have access to the timing signal, would begin each frame at theappropriate time.

[0044] Each RCC frame can be divided into predetermined time slots.Within each frame, time slots can be reserved for the followingexemplary communications (and others): for base stations/access pointsto notify mobile stations of their desire to establish a communicationsession; for mobile stations to notify base stations/access points andother mobile stations of their desire to establish a communicationsession; for base stations/access points to broadcast intentions for newcommunication sessions; for mobile stations to broadcast intentions fornew communication sessions; for base stations to object to proposed newcommunication sessions; for mobile stations to object to proposed newcommunication sessions; for mobile stations engaged in communicationsessions with other mobile stations to declare their intentions tocontinue their sessions and update their system resource allocation; formobile stations to register with base stations and/or other mobilestations; and for broadcasting the needs and priority information ofmobile stations that could not receive service due to system resourcelimitations. In some embodiments, the time slots are, for example, 250ms long.

[0045] With the above-described exemplary RCC structure including framesand time slots, a mobile station need only access the RCC at times ofinterest to the mobile station. For example, an idle mobile stationwould only need to monitor the RCC during the time slots in which a basestation or other mobile station might request a session with the idlemobile station.

[0046] With the exemplary frame and time slot definitions given above,some embodiments utilize a conventional CSMA/CA approach (similar to thenetwork interface used for EEE 802.11) to determine when information canbe transmitted on the RCC. In CSMA/CA, each user listens to the channel(here the RCC), waits for a period of no activity, and then transmits.If the transmission collides with another user's transmission, then eachcolliding user waits for an amount of time based on a random number, andbegins transmitting after the amount of time has elapsed. In someembodiments, the amount of time waited could be based on the prioritycode of the individual user (lower value priority code waits longer),thereby ensuring that high priority users are given priority access tothe RCC with respect to lower priority users. In some embodiments, auser that is unable to access the RCC during a desired time slot withina given frame can try again during the same time slot of the next frame.

[0047] Any user can potentially transmit on the RCC at any time, so somecommunications would be clearly received, while others would beunintelligible. Therefore, an etiquette for controlling access to theRCC can be provided. For example, if a transmit collision occurs becausetwo users simultaneously declare an intention to use certain spectrumresources (whether the same spectrum resources or not), the users wouldmost likely receive a NAK. A NAK is a “not acknowledge” indication thatthe request has been denied or objected to. Users would normally send aNAK on RCC when they hear a new user trying to establish a new sessionthat would collide with their present usage. Users would also send a NAKwhen they receive an input at a sufficient signal strength that itshould have been understood, but was not understood because it wasjammed by another user transmitting on the RCC at the same time. Sincethe aforementioned colliding users don't know about each other, eachwould believe that the NAK was either an indication that the proposedspectrum resources are in use, or that their spectrum request proposalhas experienced a collision. In either instance, each new user wantshigh confidence that the message proposing use of spectrum resources hasbeen received. One exemplary rule of etiquette for handling collisionswould be for a user to restate its intention to use the spectrumresources in the next available time slot (actually a sub-slot withinthe “broadcast intention” time slot mentioned above) if the first digitof the user's identification number is even, and to restate itsintention to use the spectrum resources in the second-next availabletime slot (sub-slot) if the first digit of the user's identificationnumber is odd. If a second collision occurs using this procedure, afurther etiquette procedure could be implemented, for example, each userselecting a time slot (sub-slot) for re-transmission based on the sizeof its TRE.

[0048] Some exemplary embodiments support a frame structure that is notsynchronized by an externally available timing signal, but rather wherethe timing is established by a first user of the system. Assuming thatthe frame and time slot structure of the RCC is known, if a first userbegins to monitor the RCC and finds that there are no other userspresent, at such time when that first user is ready to establish acommunication session (at which time there would need to be at least asecond user within the first user's range), the first user could begintransmitting the spectrum usage of the communication session on the RCC.Because this transmission of spectrum usage is periodically definedwithin the framing and time slot structure of the RCC, any additionalusers who eventually monitor the RCC could determine the timing of theRCC from the first user's transmissions. In this manner, the RCC timingcould be established from a “cold” start (with no users present),thereafter serve a growing number of users, and then eventually shutdown, all based on the internal clock of the first user, and without thebenefit of any externally available timing signal.

[0049] In the system of FIG. 3, there are no hard cell boundaries, sospectrum can be used and re-used without regard to where the users arerelative to physical boundaries. Of course, if the fixed-site station isa cellular base station, then the network operator might prefer to usethe spectrum (e.g., at 26, 27, 28, 29) in a “cellular” manner. However,the mobile station users need only utilize the spectrum and power levelsrequired to complete their communication sessions. When a first mobilestation uses the RCC to transmit a request for a communication sessionwith a second mobile station that is within range of the first mobilestation, the first and second mobile stations can share their ARMinformation via the RCC (see 1200 in FIG. 5) to determine what spectrumis available. Based, for example, on their respective locations and thefrequency channel conditions that they have observed in their respectivevicinities, the first and second mobile stations can calculate theminimum transmit power levels required for a successful communicationsession, and can then begin their session. The local fixed-site stationbecomes aware of the peer-to-peer session between the two mobilestations when they report the communication session on the RCC, so thesetwo mobile stations now share with the fixed-site station the spectrumresources that they are utilizing for their peer-to-peer session intheir local area. This does not mean, however, that other users cannotalso access the same spectrum resources in other areas, even areas thatare within range of the fixed-site station. That is, for example, one ormore other sessions between mobile stations within range of the samefixed-site station, or between the same fixed-site station and a mobilestation, could occur using the same spectrum resources, so long as theRCC is used, for example in the exemplary fashion described above, toensure that these simultaneous sessions do not interfere with oneanother.

[0050] In some exemplary embodiments, an intention to utilize spectrumresources would be transmitted on the RCC at a slightly higher powerlevel than is intended to be used for the actual communication session.This would increase the likelihood that the intention broadcast would beheard by users with which the proposed communication session wouldinterfere, while also avoiding the possibility of needlessly reachingfar away users. Also, if more than one of the communication stationsassociated with a proposed session broadcasts the intention to usespectrum resources for the session, then an aspect of diversity isprovided. In this manner, if a user that is already using the desiredspectrum resources cannot receive the intention broadcast from one ofthe users proposing the new session, the intention broadcast from theother user might nevertheless be clearly received.

[0051] The communication stations can, in some embodiments, implementconventional error correction coding, scrambling, interleaving and/orother interference avoidance schemes with respect to their transmissionsand receptions on the RCC, in order to increase the likelihood thatinformation carried on the RCC may still be communicated effectivelyeven, for example, during interference from far away users.

[0052] Some embodiments can support mobility during mobilestation-to-mobile station sessions. This mobility can be supported, forexample, by having the mobile stations periodically update theirresource use information (as shown at 1608 in FIG. 12). For example, aonce-per-minute update of a mobile station's positional information canprovide position accuracy of 200 meters when the mobile station istraveling at 10 kilometers per hour. If the updated position and channelinformation indicates an interference threat to another user (i.e.,expected interference), the other user can then issue an objection onRCC, as indicated at 1609 of FIG. 12 (see also 1601 and 1602 of FIG. 6where the other user detects and objects to interference). Such anobjection could also be issued, on behalf of other users, by a localfixed-site station that is monitoring the ARM updates performed at 1608.If an objection is detected at 1609, operations can proceed to 1300 inFIG. 5 to identify other resources.

[0053] Mobility at higher speeds can be supported in some embodiments.Once a mobile station-to-mobile station session has been established,the mobile stations communicate with each other using the communicationresources that they have agreed upon. Information regarding powerlevels, channel quality or other information needed for session controlcan be communicated over the actual system resources allocated for thesession, rather than the RCC, so the operation at 1608 of FIG. 12 wouldnot be necessary. This permits the mobile stations to maintain anacceptable communication session so long as there are no interferingsessions present. In some embodiments, the mobile stations involved inthe moving session can, from time to time, update their resource useinformation on RCC. The mobile stations involved in the moving session(i.e., moving together at low relative velocity) can monitor the RCC todetect any urgent requests to drop their session (see 1609 in FIG. 12).If a session involving one or more moving mobile stations begins tointerfere with another session, the moving session can drop immediatelyif requested to do so by any user that detects objectionableinterference from the moving session (see also 1601 and 1602 in FIG. 6).Such embodiments can be useful, for example, in remote areas whereinterference is unlikely and lack of updates to the RCC is not asignificant concern. In other embodiments, the moving session is droppedonly if an objecting user has higher priority than one or both of themoving session users.

[0054] Some users will need the capability of establishing both shortand long-distance sessions. In some embodiments, the spectrum can beutilized so that long-distance channels are preserved for potentiallong-distance (e.g., 5 km) users. Short distance (e.g. 100 m) users cantry to operate as much as possible in a predetermined area of spectrum.Short distance users can be required, for example, to use spectrum inone region of the total available spectrum until that region is fullyutilized, and only use spectrum from other regions of the totalavailable spectrum in a predetermined manner and only when needed. Thelong distance users could then use spectrum from another region, andonly use the short distance spectrum when essential. For example, shortdistance users can cluster and make maximum use of higher frequencies(e.g., 25 in FIG. 2) in the available spectrum, and long distance userscan cluster and make maximum usage of lower frequencies (e.g., 24 inFIG. 2) in the available spectrum. This reduces the search time for anopen frequency, and orders the assignment of frequencies in a mannerwhich allows a mix of short and long distance users to exist in a randompattern. The distance between users of a desired session can bedetermined from location data in the ARM information, and the frequencyfor the session can then be selected from the appropriate part of thespectrum (see 1200 and 1300 of FIG. 5).

[0055] In some embodiments, the mobile station is capable of conductinga WLAN session in the unlicensed ISM band and is also capable ofconducting a cellular session in the paid cellular band. So, forexample, the mobile station might first attempt to establish a WLANsession in the ISM band and, if that fails, it might next try toestablish one of the above-described sessions in, for example, one ofthe spectrum areas illustrated at 26-29 in FIG. 2 and, if that fails, itmight ultimately try to make a call in the paid cellular band.

[0056]FIG. 10 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions ofexemplary embodiments of a mobile station of FIG. 3. A wirelesscommunication interface 11 can use generally conventional techniques tointerface a user's communications application 12 (e.g., high speedvideo, audio, voice, email, short messaging, etc.) to the air interface13. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the wireless communicationinterface 11 can be similar to that of a conventional cellular device,but with its transmit and receive filters slightly modified to permitaccess to desired spectrum such as the shaded areas 26-29 of FIG. 2. Asession manager 15 coupled to the wireless interface 11 can effectuateexemplary operations illustrated in FIGS. 5-9, 11 and 12. The sessionmanager 15 includes the mobile station's resource control segment RCS,which participates in the resource control system via informationtransmitted and received on the RCC. The session manager 15 can beimplemented, for example, by suitably modifying software, hardware orboth, in a conventional wireless mobile communication station, forexample a cellular phone. After resources for a given session areallocated, or when RCC access is needed, the session manager providesappropriate channel information and timing information to the wirelesscommunication interface 11. Based on this channel and timinginformation, the wireless communication interface can operate ingenerally conventional fashion to effectuate communications on the RCCand on the various channels available for communications sessions.

[0057] It will be evident to workers in the art that the air interfacein exemplary embodiments can be provided as, for example, a UMTSinterface, an HSDPA interface or an OFDM interface. Exemplaryembodiments of the invention can utilize such exemplary multiple accesstechniques as TDMA, CDMA, FDMA, and combinations of CDMA, TDMA and FDMA.

[0058] Referring again to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the fixed-site stations'capability of accessing the data network via the network infrastructurepermits the license holder for spectrum areas such as shown at 24 and 25in FIG. 2 to offer access to his spectrum for a fee. In particular, insome embodiments, a mobile station user who wishes to access an area oflicensed spectrum such as illustrated at 24 and 25 in FIG. 2 can use theRCC to make a request to use that spectrum. The local fixed-site stationreceives the request and forwards it through the network infrastructureto the data network. The license holder receives the request via thedata network and can grant access to the spectrum in exchange for apromise to pay, or in view of an existing line of credit that the usermay have with the license holder. In other exemplary embodiments, anon-line auction can be conducted so that users of various mobilestations can use the fixed-site stations, the network infrastructure andthe data network to bid on the license holder's spectrum.

[0059] In some embodiments, each fixed-site station can monitor all RCCactivity within its range in order to build a resource utilization mapfor its local service area. The fixed-site stations can, fromtime-to-time, exchange their respective local resource utilization mapswith one another via WCC. In some embodiments, a mobile station canestablish a special session with the fixed-site station for the purposeof downloading the fixed-site station's local resource utilization mapto the mobile station. In other embodiments, the fixed-site station canbroadcast its local resource utilization map on RCC in order toeffectuate a download of the local resource utilization map to allmobile stations within range of the fixed-site station.

[0060] By maintaining their local resource utilization maps, thefixed-site stations are able to support the mobile stations (albeit at areduced level of functionality) even if the link to the ARM (see alsoFIG. 3) is lost for any reason.

[0061] In some embodiments, the fixed-site stations can support movingcommunication sessions such as described above by anticipating handoffneeds in advance. For example, a first fixed-site station can monitorRCC in order to learn the spectrum needs for anticipated handoffs, andcan then use WCC to reserve appropriate spectrum with a secondfixed-site station so that the mobile stations involved in the movingsession will have a much higher likelihood of uninterrupted service asthey leave the service area of the first fixed-site station and enterthe service area of the second fixed-site station. Using WCC tocoordinate handoff information in this fashion can permit the mobilestations of a moving session to enter a service area of a new fixed-sitestation without using RCC to set up a new session in the service area ofthe new fixed-site station.

[0062] As described above, the RCS of each mobile station illustrated inFIG. 3 can build up its own ARM information, for example, by monitoringRCC or by directly monitoring the various channels which might possiblybe available for a communication session. Having thus accumulated itsown ARM information, the mobile station can, in some embodiments,provide the user with an indication of the likelihood that acommunication session could be successfully established and/or executed.For example, a visual indicator such as a simple LED could signifywhether or not the probability of successfully establishing acommunication session within the next few minutes is higher than apredetermined threshold. In other embodiments, the RCS of the mobilestation can maintain samples of ARM information accumulated over time,and can use this accumulated information to present to the user agraphical indication of the likelihood of successful establishmentand/or execution of a communication session as a function of the time ofday. FIG. 10 illustrates an indicator that can operate as describedabove.

[0063] Although exemplary embodiments of the invention are describedabove in detail, this does not limit the scope of the invention, whichcan be practiced in a variety of embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information storage apparatus, comprising: aninput for coupling to an input information transfer path that originatesat a wireless mobile communication apparatus, said input for, whencoupled to said input information transfer path, receiving from thewireless mobile communication apparatus information for use indetermining whether a desired wireless communication session with thewireless mobile communication apparatus will be established; aninformation storage apparatus coupled to said input for storing saidinformation; an output for coupling to an output information transferpath that extends to a further wireless communication apparatus; saidinformation storage apparatus coupled to said output for providing saidinformation to said output; and said output for, when coupled to saidoutput information transfer path, providing said information to thefurther wireless communication apparatus for use by the further wirelesscommunication apparatus in determining whether the desired communicationsession will be established.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thefurther wireless communication apparatus is a fixed-site wirelesscommunication apparatus.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein saiddesired communication session involves the further wirelesscommunication apparatus.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein saiddesired communication session involves the further wirelesscommunication apparatus.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inputinformation transfer path includes part of a data network.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 5, wherein the output information transfer pathincludes part of the data network.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, whereinthe data network is a public data network.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7,wherein the public data network includes the Internet.
 9. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the output information transfer path includes partof a data network.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inputinformation transfer path traverses the further wireless communicationapparatus.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the input informationtransfer path includes part of a data network coupled to the furtherwireless communication apparatus.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, whereinthe output information transfer path terminates at the further wirelesscommunication apparatus.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theoutput information transfer path terminates at the further wirelesscommunication apparatus.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein theoutput information transfer path includes part of a data network coupledto the further wireless communication apparatus.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said information is indicative of a location of thewireless mobile communication apparatus.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein said information is indicative of wireless communication channelconditions at the wireless mobile communication apparatus.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said information is indicative of wirelesscommunication resource use in a previous wireless communication sessioninvolving the wireless mobile communication apparatus.
 18. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein said information is indicative of operationalcapabilities of the wireless mobile communication apparatus.